The Jackets ended the regular season with against Virginia in a battle for the No. 5 seed in the ACC tournament. Tech swung the bats well throughout the series, including Tony Plagman, who had eight hits during the series.
In the first game, the Jackets fell short as they were limited to just six hits. Luke Murton scored both of the team’s runs. The starting pitcher David Duncan gave up just one earned run but took the loss.
In the second game, Plagman led the offense by driving in four runs. Murton went three for four with three RBI and score two runs. Pitcher Eddie Burns set a school record for most hit batters in a career.
The Jackets scored three in the third inning and added four more runs in the sixth with RBI hits from Dietrich, Feltes, Jason Haniger and Chris House. The Jackets hammered out a grand total of 19 hits.
Finally, Plagman pounded out five hits and Feltes added two hits and three RBI in Tech’s 9-7 regular season finale victory.
Zach Von Tersch fanned two batters and gave up just three runs in six innings, with Chris Hicks picking up the save.
The Jackets’ damage mostly came in the fourth when they scored four times. Charlie Blackmon initiated the rally with a single and scored on a double by Dietrich. Plagman and Feltes also scored in runners on solid hits. In the seventh, Nichols’ pinch hit RBI-single gave the Jackets some insurance.
The Jackets faced UGA for the second game in their series. The Jackets put up a superior defense to only allow the opponent to score one run. McGuire collected nine strike-outs and only allowed four hits against the ranked opponent.
Luke Murton hit a solo home run for Tech. By the sixth inning, the Jackets pushed the score to 7-1 with a RBI double by Murton. Blackmon and Feltes each added two run home runs.
Earlier this season, Clemson traveled to Atlanta to face the Jackets in Tech’s final home series. The Jackets won two of the three games thanks to strong pitching.
David Duncan pitched eight innings in the first game allowing just one run. Andrew Robinson pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up the save.
The Jackets put up three runs early in the game. Jason Haniger grounded in a runner. In addition, Charlie Blackmon and Jeff Rowland each had RBI singles. Thomas Nichols’ RBI single brought in the fifth run for the Jackets.
Once again, the Tech pitching staff dominated the Clemson Tigers in the second game. Eddie Burns gave up just one run in the eighth after pitching seven scoreless innings.
Luke Murton and Jeff Rowland each contributed two RBI in the game. Rowland’s third inning single scored the first run of the game. The Jackets added four runs in the fourth capped off by a Nichols double.
The Jackets could not complete the sweep as Clemson scored 16 times off 20 hits in the rubber game. Tech could only put together six runs of their own in the final game.
Finally, the third game against UGA in their annual split series was a pitchers duel at Turner Field with over 22,000 fans in attendance.
“I think it’s incredible [to pitch in a Major League stadium]. It’s pretty much a dream come true because if I never make it to the big leagues, I can at least say that I pitched at a park,” McGuire said.
“McGuire pitched great and I’d put him in anytime. If you give up just two or three runs for every start then maybe he might not have a chance to win every game. He did everything he could do, but we just didn’t help him out with our bats,” said Coach Danny Hall.
The Jackets scored first when Dietrich knocked in Jeff Rowland on a single. The Jackets second run came when Blackmon scored on a defensive error. The Tech bats put together five hits but were not able to produce many runs. Tech stranded a runner at third in the seventh and stranded two more runners in the eighth.
Tech will compete in the ACC tournament in Jacksonville this week. The Jackets will face N.C. State, Miami and Clemson in a round-robin for the first round.